Home prices still have room to grow

Region is 23% below 2006 peak

A national housing index released Tuesday provides more evidence of steady home price growth in South Florida.

Prices in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties increased 6.7 percent in September from a year earlier, according to data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index.

Only five of the 19 other metro areas tracked by Case-Shiller posted higher price gains. Seattle led with an 11 percent increase, while prices in Portland, Ore., rose 10.9 percent.

Denver (8.7 percent), Dallas (8) and Tampa (7.5) rounded out the top five.

Nationally, the index surpassed a previous high set in September 2006, though David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee, said in a statement that prices in South Florida and other areas still have room to grow.

“While seven of the 20 cities previously reached new post-recession peaks, those that experienced the biggest booms — [the tricounty] Miami [region], Tampa, Phoenix and Las Vegas — remain well below their all-time highs,” he said.

The tricounty region is still 23 percent below its peak reached in December 2006, according to Case-Shiller.

The index measures the price of the same house over time, but it lags local Realtor board data by one month. Realtor boards measure home values by releasing a median price for homes sold in a month.

Recent reports from Realtor boards and real estate website Zillow.com also show sustained price increases across South Florida.

While home sales are slowing, prices remain strong across the region, mostly due to a shortage of homes for sale.

New construction also is limited because of a lack of land, though a development group broke ground Tuesday on a project that’s expected to bring 150 single-family homes and 200 condominiums to Banyan Cay Resort & Golf Club in West Palm Beach. It previously was known as The President Country Club.

The homes will range in price from $700,000 to $5 million, and sales are due to start next fall, said Sam Bauer, president of Banyan Cay Dev LLC, which bought the club last year for $26 million. The condos will be built later, Bauer said.

The renovated club is east of Interstate 95 near Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and across from the Palm Beach Outlets. The development also will feature a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and a hotel by Noble House Hotels & Resorts.

Bauer said home sales and prices should be robust, barring an unexpected downturn in the economy.

“I can’t tell you how many people have contacted me, interested in purchasing a home,” he said. “I get a lot of interest from the western communities, people wanting to move back east.”